Garments for Promoting Weight-Loss from Specific Parts of a Wearer&#39;s Body

ABSTRACT

A non-aerobic garment to be worn to promote weight-loss during a wearer&#39;s daily activities from a targeted area of the wearer&#39;s body includes: (a) a sleeve having a configuration adapted so that the wearer can place the sleeve around the targeted body area, (b) a top and bottom means for holding the sleeve&#39;s top and bottom ends in close proximity to the top and bottom portions, respectively, of the targeted body area so as to trap an enclosed air layer around the targeted body area, and (c) wherein the materials of construction of this sleeve is a non-breathable material that has high thermal insulation and low water vapor permeability properties.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority and benefits of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/696,857, filed Sep. 5, 2012 by the presentinventors and entitled the same as the current application. Theteachings of this application are incorporated herein by reference tothe extent that they do not conflict with the teaching herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to apparel. More particularly,the invention disclosed herein relates to apparel that is worn to aidone in contouring various parts of one's body.

2. Description of the Related Art

The public's continuing concern with fitness and fashion has resulted inmany people wanting to improve the appearance or shape of their bodiesor specific parts of their bodies. This situation has result in thecreation of many types of diets, exercise programs, equipment andproducts for promoting weight loss.

However, many of these never yield their intended benefits—often due tothe obstacles that are created as a result of people going about theirtypical, busy daily schedules. New methods and products for promotingweight loss are needed that do not require people to alter their typicaldaily schedules.

There do exist garments which are meant to accelerate one weight'sloss—but these are what's known as “aerobic garments” and are designedprimarily to be worn as outer garments while exercising (i.e.,performing aerobic actions—those requiring more oxygenconsumption)—thus, not worn when going about one's typical,non-exercise-included daily activities. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos.8,376,808, 8,123,663, 6,223,565, 5,875,491, 5,857,947, 5,737,773,5,720,042, 5,700,231, and 5,176,600. Many of these are in some waypatterned after of the widely known “sauna suit” (i.e., a non-breathablegarment that is worn by persons who wish to accelerate their waterweight loss through sweating), but often differ by using more expensiveelastic materials and incorporate other cost raising items (e.g.,zippers, specialty elastic straps).

A “sauna suit” could conceivably be worn under one's regular clothing inthe workplace and as one goes about his or her typical daily activities.Such a non-breathable garment would help to create and trap or capturean insulation layer of air around the body and impair one's ability totransfer the heat given off by the body to the surrounding environmentduring one's daily activities. This lack of heat transfer from the bodywill increase the body's core temperature and could cause one to sweatenough so the resultant water loss yields a temporary weight loss.

However, one barrier to using a “sauna suit” for such a purpose is thatthe typical “sauna suit” is designed to generally cover a person's totalbody, except for the hands, feet and head. This creates the situationwhere it is possible that extensive sweating may result from onlyminimal physical activity. Such an occurrence probably rendersimpractical the idea of wearing of a “sauna suit” under one's regularclothing in the workplace—where excessive sweating would be consideredinappropriate behavior.

A further barrier to wearing a sauna suit under one's regular clothingis that most sauna suits are quite baggy and essentially cover one'sentire body, therefore the ability to easily and comfortably concealthem is limited at best.

Various garments appear in the patent literature that might be relevantto the task of developing a garment that would promote weight lossduring typical daily activities, but none of these are really meant forweight loss purposes and directed to specific parts of the body whereone might desire to lose weight for body sculpturing or other purposes.See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,123,590, 6,223,565, 5,638,546,4,569,087, 4,229,833, and 4,187,855.

Despite the existence of many types of methods and products forpromoting weight loss, the percentage of people in our population whoare overweight continues to annually increase. New and improved methodsand garments for promoting weight loss during one's typical dailyactivities are needed, especially low-cost garments that are easy to useand do not require people to take time out of their busy schedules forexercise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Recognizing the need for the development of new and improved methods andproducts for promoting weight loss, especially those which are easy touse since they do not require one to alter his or her daily schedule,the present invention is generally directed to overcoming the problemswith and barriers to the wearing of new and improved types of “saunagarments” during one's everyday activities.

In accordance with a variant of a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, a non-aerobic garment to be worn to promote weight-loss froma wearer's arms is a SAUNA BY SECTION™ sleeve garment that includes: (a)a pair of sleeves, each of which is configured such that a wearer canplace an arm through a sleeve and have the sleeve's distal end enclose awrist of the wearer while the proximal end of the sleeve encloses thetop of the arm of a wearer, (b) means for adjustably attaching togetherthe proximal ends of the front and rear portions of these sleeves, (c)means for holding the distal and proximal ends of these sleeves in closeproximity to the arm of a wearer and configured so as to help form anenclosed air layer around the wearer's arm, and (d) wherein thematerials of construction of these sleeves are non-breathable materialsthat have high thermal insulation and low water vapor permeabilityproperties.

In accordance with another variant of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, a non-aerobic garment to be worn to promoteweight-loss from a wearer's torso is a SAUNA BY SECTION^(TM) torsogarment that includes: (a) a torso sleeve that is configured such that awearer can place it around the wearer's torso such that this sleeve'sbottom end fits around the wearer's waist and the sleeve's top end fitsaround the wearer's torso at a point that is above the wearer's abdomen,(b) means for holding the top and bottom end of this sleeve in closeproximity to the wearer's torso and configured so as to help form anenclosed air layer around the wearer's torso, and (c) wherein thematerials of construction of this sleeve are non-breathable materialsthat have high thermal insulation and low water vapor permeabilityproperties.

Thus, there has been summarized above (rather broadly and understandingthat there are other preferred embodiments which have not beensummarized above) the present invention in order that the detaileddescription that follows may be better understood and appreciated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective, rear view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention in the form of a non-aerobic, SAUNA BY SECTION™ sleevegarment to be worn to promote water weight-loss from a wearer's arms.

FIG. 2 is a perspective, front view of the non-aerobic garment shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective, front view of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention in the form of a non-aerobic, SAUNA BY SECTION™ torsogarment to be to worn to promote water weight-loss from a wearer'storso.

FIG. 4 is a perspective, rear view of the non-aerobic garment shown inFIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Before explaining at least one embodiment of the present invention indetail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itsapplication to the details of construction and to the arrangements ofthe components set forth in the following description or illustrated inthe drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of beingpracticed and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understoodthat the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purposeof description and should not be regarded as limiting.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention takes the form of anon-aerobic, SAUNA BY SECTION™ garment that is configured to be wornover only a portion of either one's arms, legs or torso (e.g., thighs,calves, upper arms, stomach region, hips) and under one's normalclothing, while one goes about one's daily activities, and not be seenby others who come in contact with this garment's wearer and withoutcausing any change in the orientation of the wearer's normal clothes soas to suggest that this garment is being worn below one's normalclothes. It has been found that such garments, do promote weight-lossfrom the limited areas of one's body that they are covering even whenone is non-exercising and only going about one's daily activities.

A feature that these garments possess that prior weight loss garments donot have is that they are very comfortable and easy to wear under one'snormal clothing since, being designed to cover only limited parts of awearer's body, they do not cause the overall overheating of the wearer'sbody and result in excess sweating—a condition that can normally not betolerated as one goes about one's daily activities.

Since it is a desired to keep the manufacturing costs of such garmentslow as possible as a means to help introduce them into the marketplace,these garments are generally fabricated as sleeves with a tubularconstruction, top and bottom ends and an overall shape which isconfigured so as to cover the specific region of the body (e.g., thighs,calves, upper arms, stomach region, hips) where one desires to loseweight. For those garments designed for use on one's arms or legs, theyare meant to be put on one's body by extending one's hand or footthrough the top and bottom ends of the garment and then pulling the topend of the garment up to the top of the bodily area where one is seekingthe weight loss. The length of such sleeve garments is set so that thebottom end of the garment will extend down and cover the bottom end ofthe desired weight loss area when the top end of the sleeve is situatedat the top end of this area. Alternatively, the higher priced versionsof these garments can have a slit or opening that connects its ends sothat it can be wrapped directly around the targeted bodily area and thetwo edges of its slit joined so as to form it into a continuous piece ofmaterial that encircles and encloses a wearer's targeted bodily area.

The top and bottom ends of these sleeves are provided with respectiveadjustable bands or means for holding these ends in close proximity to,respectively, the areas above and below the targeted bodily area. Thesebands are configured so as to provide the wearer with the ability toadjustably locate the garments' ends and to help form a partial, airtight seal of this sleeve about a wearer's targeted bodily area. Theseseals contribute to helping form an enclosed air layer around a wearer'stargeted bodily area; thereby retaining heat and ultimately causing thewearer to potentially sweat in this region and lose water weight aroundone's targeted bodily area.

Suitable materials of construction for the non-aerobic garments of thepresent invention are low-cost, non-breathable materials that have highthermal insulation and low water vapor permeability properties, e.g.,polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or coated nylon cloths. The garments themselvesmay be made of a single or double-ply (i.e., two overlapping layers ofthe garment's fabric) construction depending on the wearer's targetedbodily area and how much heat trapping capacity the garment needs tohave when its wearer is only doing typical, non-exercise dailyactivities in order to promote a desired rate of weight loss.Additionally, different portions of these garments may be constructedfrom different non-breathable materials so as to try to provide themwith additional fitting properties that make them easier to wear &maintain and to extend their useful lives. Furthermore, the materials ofconstruction for the present invention are further chosen so as to makethem machine washable and capable of withstanding multiple washingcycles.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a perspective, back view of apreferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of a SAUNA BYSECTION™ sleeve garment 1 to be worn to promote weight-loss from awearer's arms. It is seen to consist of a right 10 and a left 20 sleeveor a pair of sleeves. Both of these have front 12, 22 and rear 14, 24portions and proximal 16, 26 and distal 18, 28 ends. These sleeves areconfigured such that a wearer can place his or her right arm through theright sleeve and left arm through the left sleeve and have the distalends of the sleeves enclose the wearer's wrists and the proximal ends ofthe sleeves enclose the top of the arms or shoulder extremity regions ofthe wearer.

Connecting the proximal ends of these sleeves on their rear portions isa rear means or rear garment portion 30 for attaching the two sleevesproximal ends 16, 26 together. Many types of attachment means aresuitable for this purpose. For example, it could consist of an elastictype of material that is connected to and stretches between these ends,or pieces of material to which hook and loop or some other type offastener is connected so as to allow this means to provide foradjustability in the distance between these ends when the garment isbeing worn.

The distal ends 18, 28 of the sleeves are provided with elastic cuffs40, 42 or means for holding these ends in close proximity to a wearer'swrists. These are configured so as to provide the wearer with theability to adjustably locate the garments' ends to a preferred locationon a wearer's wrist or arm. This proves to be a helpful feature for thewearer's comfort and, in case the wearer prefers it, in helping tosituate these ends so that they lie beneath a wearer's shirt or coatsleeve, etc. These cuffs also serve to help form a partial, air tightseal of the garment at a wearer's wrist. Such seals contribute tohelping form or capture an enclosed air layer around the wearer's arms.It is the encapsulation or trapping of this air layer next to a wearer'sarms that helps to make this garment effective at retaining the heatgiven off by the wearer's arms and ultimately causing the wearer's armsto sweat and lose weight.

The proximal ends 16, 26 of the sleeves are also provided with means forholding 46, 48 these ends in close proximity to a wearer's body so as tofurther aid in forming the enclosed or trapped air layer around thewearer's arms. Many types of holding means are suitable for thispurpose. For example, it could consist of a material that, when moistenby a wearer's sweat, tends to cling to the wearer's skin, e.g., aplastic type of material.

FIG. 2 illustrates a perspective, front view of a preferred embodimentof this sleeve garment 1 in which some parts of the rear portions of thesleeves and the rear means 30 for attaching these two portions are shownin the background. It is again seen to consist of a right 10 and a left20 sleeve and their front 12, 22 portions with their distal 16, 26 andproximal 18, 28 ends.

Connecting the proximal ends of these sleeves on their front portions isa front means for attaching these two portions or ends 16, 26 together.Many types of attachment means are suitable for this purpose. Forexample, the means shown in FIG. 2 consists of straps 52, 54 that extendfrom each end and have at their distal ends a piece of a 2-part 56 a, 56b fastener that provides for adjustability in the distance between theseends when the garment is being worn.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective, front view of a preferred embodimentof the present invention in the form of a SAUNA BY SECTION™ torsogarment 1 to be worn to promote weight-loss from a wearer's torso. It isseen to consist of a torso sleeve 60 that has top 62 and bottom 64 ends.It is configured such that a wearer can place it around one's torso suchthat its bottom end 64 fits around a wearer's waist and its top end 62is situated at a point that is above a wearer's abdomen. See FIG. 4 fora perspective, rear view of this torso garment.

This torso garment can be of a tubular construction such that one putsit on by slipping it over one's head or pulling it up over a wearer'ships. Alternatively, it can have a slit or opening that connects itsends so that it can be wrapped directly around one's torso and the twoedges of its slit joined so as to form it into a continuous piece ofmaterial that encircles a wearer's torso.

Its top and bottom ends are provided with respective adjustable chest 66and waist 68 bands or means for holding these ends in close proximityto, respectively, the area above the stomach on a wearer's torso and thearea around the wearer's waist. These bands are configured so as toprovide the wearer with the ability to adjustably locate the garments'ends and to help form a partial, air tight seal of this sleeve about awearer's torso. As previously noted, these seals contribute to helpingform an enclosed air layer around a wearer's mid-section torso thatretains heat and ultimately causes the wearer to sweat in this regionand lose water weight around one's mid-section.

Many types of holding means are suitable for these bands. For example,FIG. 3 shows elasticized chest 66 and waist 68 bands and a drawstringfastener 70 being used to provide size adjustability for the waist band.Many other types of fasteners (e.g., 2-piece buckles, hook & loopfasteners, buttons & cooperating slits or eyelets for them) canadequately perform this function. Suitable materials of construction forthese bands have been found to be elasticized materials or elasticizedfabrics. In some instances, where the accumulation of significantperspiration might be expected, this bottom band can also include amoisture absorbing material or fabric. Many of these materials are wellknown in the garment industry and therefore further discussion of themwill not be provided herein.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe present invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changeswill readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired tolimit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed herein. For example, it is conceivable that SAUNA BY SECTION™garments will be created for other parts of the body not shown in thisapplication's drawings (e.g., thighs, calves, upper arms). Accordingly,all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, fallingwithin the scope of the invention that is illustratively set forth inthe following representative claims to the present invention.

We claim:
 1. A non-aerobic garment to be worn to promote weight-lossduring a wearer's daily activities from a targeted area of the body ofsaid wearer, said non-aerobic garment comprising: a sleeve having topand bottom ends and a configuration adapted such that said wearer canplace said sleeve around said targeted area of the body of said wearersuch that said sleeve top and bottom end fits around respective top andbottom portions of said targeted area of the body of said wearer, a topmeans for holding said top end of said sleeve in close proximity to saidtop portion of said targeted area of the body of said wearer and havinga configuration adapted so as to help trap an enclosed air layer aroundsaid targeted area of the body of said wearer, a bottom means forholding said bottom end of said sleeve in close proximity to said bottomportion of said targeted area of the body of said wearer and having aconfiguration adapted so as to help trap said enclosed air layer aroundsaid targeted area of the body of said wearer, and wherein the materialsof construction of said sleeve is a non-breathable material that hashigh thermal insulation and low water vapor permeability properties. 2.The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 1, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve further adapted to the situation where saidtargeted area of the body of said wearer is the lower torso andabdominal area.
 3. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 1,wherein: the materials of construction of said top and bottom means isan elasticized fabric.
 4. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 2,wherein: the materials of construction of said top and bottom means isan elasticized fabric.
 5. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 1,wherein: the materials of construction of said bottom means includes amoisture absorbing fabric.
 6. The non-aerobic garment as recited inclaim 2, wherein: the materials of construction of said bottom meansincludes a moisture absorbing fabric.
 7. The non-aerobic garment asrecited in claim 3, wherein: the materials of construction of saidbottom means includes a moisture absorbing fabric.
 8. The non-aerobicgarment as recited in claim 4, wherein: the materials of construction ofsaid bottom means includes a moisture absorbing fabric.
 9. Thenon-aerobic garment as recited in claim 1, wherein: said configurationof said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be worn beneath thenormal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others who come incontact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 10. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 2, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 11. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 3, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 12. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 4, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 13. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 5, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 14. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 6, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 15. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 7, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 16. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 8, wherein: saidconfiguration of said sleeve is adapted so that said sleeve can be wornbeneath the normal clothes of said wearer and not be seen by others whocome in contact with said wearer and without causing any change in theorientation of said normal clothes of said wearer so as to suggest thatsaid non-aerobic garment is being worn below the normal clothes of saidwearer.
 17. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 1, wherein: saidmaterial of construction of said sleeve is used in a manner so that saidgarment is of a two-ply construction.
 18. The non-aerobic garment asrecited in claim 2, wherein: said material of construction of saidsleeve is used in a manner so that said garment is of a two-plyconstruction.
 19. The non-aerobic garment as recited in claim 8,wherein: said material of construction of said sleeve is used in amanner so that said garment is of a two-ply construction.
 20. Thenon-aerobic garment as recited in claim 16, wherein: said material ofconstruction of said sleeve is used in a manner so that said garment isof a two-ply construction.